McNabb: If Vick starts hearing the boos in Philly, he’ll lose focus

Posted by Michael David Smith on October 30, 2012, 8:32 AM EST

AP

Former Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb says current Eagles quarterback Michael Vick needs to turn a deaf ear to criticism from fans and the media in Philadelphia if he has any hope of succeeding in his job.

McNabb said on NFL AM that if Vick allows the calls for his benching to get to him, he’s in trouble.

“I think you get in a situation where once you start hearing the boos and hearing the radio stations talk, and people on the outside begin to bring your name up of being benched, then you begin to lose focus, and now your play begins to fall and you begin to focus on other things,” McNabb said. “I think for Michael Vick, I think it’s important for him to feed off of what he did last week: not turning the ball over, protect the football, give his guys an opportunity to make plays for him and good things can happen.”

McNabb said he thinks Vick is bearing the brunt of the criticism in Philadelphia, and that’s unfair.

“Start mentioning some of the defensive players that need to be benched,” McNabb said. “Maybe the offensive line needs to be benched. There’s other people that need to be in this situation besides Michael Vick.”

But as McNabb knows from first-hand experience, when the team is struggling, most of the attention will be on the quarterback.

Maybe McNabb has some points and decent insight on this, but his credibility has been destroyed in my eyes. He proved that he didn’t have the dedication and focus to succeed in both Washington and Minnesota, and both times it was someone else’s fault.

Can he just do us all a favor and disappear from the football landscape?

McNabb is about as thin skinned as it gets. Those statements are more about him than they are about Vick. Vick has been hearing much worse than boos since 2007, and he has maintained composure. Boos or no boos, he’s been playing terribly.

When you win, everybody lauds the conquering hero and when you lose you don’t want the criticism…

You cannot have it both ways, period.

If Vick is the high caliber player that he wants everybody to believe he is, then stop fumbling the ball, learn how to read a blitz, and utilize your offensive line to protect you more. Being a scrambling QB is not a lengthy role in the NFL, sure it makes for great highlights, but eventually the opposing defenses will scheme for it by put a linebacker in the spy and light you up as soon as you leave containment.
McNabb is retired, and unless Vick wants to go out like he did, without a ring, then learn how to use the tools you have and accept the criticisms and move on.

“Start mentioning some of the defensive players that need to be benched,” McNabb said. “Maybe the offensive line needs to be benched. There’s other people that need to be in this situation besides Michael Vick.”

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Still the same McNabb blame everybody but himself. I swear when I see him I just turn the channel

It is often said that he takes “too many hits/shots” and needs to quit doing that. He has been encouraged to stay in the pocket more. I don’t get this at all. Vick is no Brady, he is no Rodgers. Vick’s strength first and foremost is his speed. He is not really that accurate in comparison to many QB’s. But when he scrambles, he draws up the defenders, especially linebackers. This then enlarges his areas to throw into, as the backers often are no longer deep because they have to come up to get Vick when scrambling. Now I hear everyone complaining about him. To me, he has limited value if he is just sitting back in the pocket. Also, McCoy is not as dangerous either due to defenders less concerned about Vick’s tendency to take off and run. Crazy. If I had Vick, I would have him scrambling, rolling, whatever all the time. If he hurt, well then he is out any way, but not because you had to bench him. Whole thing makes no sense to me.

The offensive line didn’t fumble the ball 10 times. The defense didn’t throw interceptions. Obviously, the whole team has massive room for improvement. But when your qb holds the ball for 5.6 seconds per pass attempt, you aren’t helping your line out any. It has to start with Vick. It certainly doesn’t end there though, Mcnabb is right

whats the matter? yall can admit whehn you are wrong and bias…yall been trying to bench vick for weeks now. even went on your soap box yesterday and turned out you were all wrong. i guess now an days its too much to ask for a writer to apologize for being wrong. i am still waiting for your long winded essay about benching rivers, gabbert, romo, bradford, all who are having a far worse year than vick. I guess you only dislike vick and newton

This Time Reid is the one the them will get rid of…. Vick can make 2 or 3
of those incredible plays that everybody knows he can make an the fans will come back. Reid has lost that locker room. Vick didnt lose that team on the field

Most of you up here are dumb as hell don’t have a clue about football. Like Donovan said that entire o line need to go, bench Nnandi he is the one getting burned every week. If Vick is not starting QB in the league then neither is Romo or Rivers or weeded or kolb, skeleton Fitzpatrick gabbert Alex smith, Bradford Sanchez tebow these guys named never come up all garbage all average or below all get passes every week. But know let’s talk about Vick he can’t do this he can’t do that we neither can these guys.

But it disgusts me that people (thanks in part to the talking heads at ESPN and NFL Network and all the other football “news” programs) would have you think that the QB is all that matters. How many times have you heard something like “It’s Brees versus Manning in a battle of QB titans” or some crap like that? Last I heard, football was a team game, and teams won and lost as teams. No QB in the world, including the aforementioned Brees and Manning (or the other unmentioned Manning), can thrive without a decent team around them.

No QB will thrive without an OL that protects them, WRs that can get open and catch the ball, RBs who can find holes and establish a ground game, and a defense that keeps the other team from scoring. Fail in any of that, and the QB will look bad. Excel in all of that, and a mediocre QB will look good.

Philly just isn’t a good team this year. Not Vick’s fault. That said, he still isn’t all that great…

McNabb’s skills may have fallen off drastically in the last few years but you have to admit he was a hell of QB in his prime….tough as nails, took care of the football, and took the team deep into the playoffs year after year without much talent around him. He knows what he is talking about.

1) McNabb. Was his opinion sought out or is it unsolicited? Makes a difference if a reporter is asking him to comment. He shouldn’t be burned for having an opinion. He’s been under the microscope and soared and sucked (often in the same game). He knows what Vick is going through, and he must sympathize. I’m a Philly fan, and let’s face it, we’re not as jovial as, say, San Diego fans (just ask John Kruk).

2) Vick. He stinks. He had portions of a good season and suddenly he was the savior, but on the whole, athleticism aside, his numbers are poor. He can run fast, and he has a strong arm, but two things a good QB needs are quick and sound decision-making abilities and an accurate arm–neither of which he has. The decision-making is key. People wonder why a guy who scrambles like that can be taking so many sacks. Here’s my theory: if a QB knows he has the ability to run, then the option is always in his mind. Most QBs focus on A) Pass B) Hand off C) scramble. But the running QB sees scrambling as a more viable option, so when the defense is barreling down on him, there’s a point where he could say, “I need to throw this one away,” but he hesitates, thinking he can salvage the play with a run, and maybe he can dodge the first tackle, but he probably didn’t see the second guy…

3) McNabb mentioned the fact that there are other weaknesses on the team. Very true. Offensively line is substandard and in the seasons since Dawkins left, the Eagles never fixed their secondary. That’s amazing. You know you have a weakness, and you solve it not by drafting a safety, but by drafting linebackers and moving the offense line coach up to defensive coordinator. This brings us to …

4) The management of this team has been horrible for years. Lurie needs to show he’s the owner and clean house. A 5-year rebuilding plan is fine–as long as it produces a winner. (Cowboys, Colts, and Patriots suffered horrible years before creating virtual dynasties.)

Players earn their boos, just as they earn their cheers. Vick has earned his. Despite the poor image the media lays on them, Philly fans are fair when it comes to booing. In every case, it’s deserving. The reason it hurts is because players know this. They don’t get a free pass, so to speak.

Donovan, Donovan…. The last thing Philly fans want to hear is your sensitive whining self always blaming someone else. Vick is not progressing and needs to sit. More of this passive aggressive stuff from Donovan.

There were more #5 jerseys in the audience when McNabb played than any other. He needs to stop acting like fans didn’t love him here. After 10 years we had enough though. Now you’re annoying and no one likes you McNabb.

I’m pretty sure that the starting QB and leader on the offensive side of the ball should be able to tune out boos, talk radio, and people’s opinions on the outside. The QB should not allow things like this to get inside his head and affect play on the field.

To me, this is an obvious admission by McNabb that he allowed these things to affect his play. I find this to be rather pathetic. Everybody is human and nobody likes criticism, but leaders and champions don’t allow it to get them down. McNabb’s sensitivity and rabbit ears affected his play and were a big contributor to him never winning a Super Bowl.

Sign the world may actually end: I agree with some of the things McNabb said. Vick (as well as any QB) DOES need to have a thick skin (especially in Philly). If he starts listening to all the boo’s, talk radio, etc it WILL affect his play.
There is a ton of blame to spread around…Vick, the offensive line, the defense, the coaches. All of them play a role in the mess this team has become. But, part of being an NFL QB is that you are (fairly or not) put under the microscope and blamed for your team struggles. That’s just the way it is. And all of Vick’s turnovers prove he’s a big part of the problem. So is the offensive line. And Andy Reid’s playcalling is terrible…how in the hell can he justify not putting the ball in McCoy’s hands? He’s one of the best RB’s in the NFL and there’s no way he’d fumble as much as Vick. Part of Vick’s problem is his inability to read defenses. Plus, he’s lost a step when it comes to his ability to scramble. And he’s not an accurate passer, either.

After his embarrassing tenure with Washington, followed by Minnesota, I lost some respect for the man. However, I can see through the haze of disappointment and admit when a person has a point. Too often, when a team fails, the burden of that failure is thrust onto the shoulders of the QB. It is irrational and unreasonable. Take McNabb for example. Statistically, his career is sound (minus his last 2 years). He with Reid and the rest if the team have managed to get the Eagles into the post season year after year for much of his career with one Superbowl appearance. Yet, there are people in this discussion board who classify his career as a failure. That is either ignorant of what success is or blatantly personal bias. I’m no Eagle fan. And admittedly disappointed with the road McNabb has chosen to walk in the last 2 years, but I will NEVER classify his career as a failure nor will I put the failure of the Eagles past squarely on him. there were 52 other men out there with him. What’s interesting about Vick is when the man doesn’t take chances, he is criticize and accused of losing a step. Let him take chances, and he is criticized for being careless. I’m convinced Philly is impossible to satisfy. Perhaps the team should move to where folks are reasonable.

Keep in mind this comment is prior to Eagles/Saints game where probably 25% of the readers could have productive days vs. the Saints Defense. Mike Vick is one of the worst QB’s in the league. If you were starting a football team, arguably guys like Cassell, Sanchez, Skelton, Wilson, maybe a few others you MIGHT put behind Vick. I can think of about 25 starting QB’s that I would rather have than Vick, and I’m not saying that for shock value, just think about the other QB’s both young and old, withouth me naming each one, all better than him now or have more upside and potential.

One loser giving advice to another – yeah, priceless. McNabb should know about booing – first in Philly then in DC. Yeah, let’s cheer Vick because he’s REALLY earning his multi-million dollar paycheck, yeah….

McNabb is still a better QB than a lot of the starting QB’s in the NFL right now. but fans booing can be changed in 1 play. Vick only needs to be his self and pass on the move or take off with the ball… pocket passer… thats NOT Vick…. and Andy Reid had his chance Philly needs a coach